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Enhance Connectedness

Level of research support: Strong evidence of effectiveness

What is it?

While it may seem strange to focus on connectedness as a way to address the impact of drug use on the community and its residents, a close examination of the known protective factors related to risky behaviours reveals that healthy connectedness figures prominently among them. Protective factors related to connectedness include social and emotional competence, healthy family attachment, participation in a faith community, and having a meaningful adult role model relationship during adolescence or a supportive relationship in adulthood.

Resilience is often included in discussions about protective factors. Resilience is the ability to rise above or bounce back from adversity. The idea is that the more protective factors people have in their lives, the more resilient they will be in the face of obstacles or challenging circumstances.

Why do it?

A person with healthy and meaningful connections is not guaranteed to live free of drug-related harms. Nor does it follow that having a host of risk factors (e.g. childhood trauma, insufficient income or housing) automatically mean a person will use drugs in risky ways.

The precise relationship between risk and protective factors and health conditions is complex and messy, like everything else involving human beings. What we do know is that risk factors alone do not predict outcome (Derzon, 2007). After all, some people with significant risk factors succeed despite adversity while others do not. But, research suggests that investing in resilience-building measures such as building strengths and competence in children, their families, their relationships and the communities where they live is the best way to improve educational, social and health outcomes (Masten & Gewirtz, 2006).

Who is it for?

  • General population (universal)
  • Young people (selected)
  • Seniors (selected)
  • People displaying risky patterns (indicated)

Who can facilitate it?

  • Interested citizens
  • Community leaders
  • Schools

How can we implement it?

Give all members a voice in the health-promoting process

  • Involve representatives from all stakeholder groups—including minority and marginalized populations such as people who use drugs in harmful ways—in reflecting on the interplay of factors in the community and how they influence health, planning and implementing initiatives, and monitoring and evaluating the outcomes.

Foster relationships between caring adults and youth

  • Create the conditions and structures that enable relationships to be built and maintained.
  • Value and nurture an environment in which all youth, families, community agency personnel, school staff, and other community members interact and engage in a natural and regular way.
  • Encourage caring adults such as teachers and coaches to provide support and healthy role modelling.
  • Develop or enhance mentorship programs that include careful matching of mentors with youth and provide training and ongoing support.

Strengthen bonds between community, schools and families

  • Nurture a sense of shared responsibility for child and adolescent development.
  • Create a school environment where parents feel free to discuss issues about their children.
  • Provide support to help parents increase their understanding of child and adolescent development. Use school transition points (entry into pre-school/kindergarten, middle school and high school) as opportunities to provide information and engage parents in discussions on effective support.
  • Promote three-way communications to increase understanding and cooperation among community, school and home.
  • Maximize opportunities for volunteering in the school and the community (see Helping Schools for further guidance).

 

Sources and related material